The Forbidden God
by Promm
Summary: A secret hidden in the fabric of time, and an enemy far greater than any before. Can a new God defeat the Universe? I do not own any of the Percy Jackson series characters, although I do own 'the boy'.
1. A God is Announced

The Hall of the Gods was fuller than it had ever been! It wasn't even this bad when Apollo accidentally sung that 'growing chant' that made the gods uncontrollably big, even for their standards, but that's another story. Anyway, everybody was here. The heroes from Camp Half-Blood were closer to the front while the centaurs were towards the back. The wind spirits and immortal birds packed the air and the nature spirits sat at the foot of Dionysus' vacant throne. Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Nico stood in the middle of the room, by the fire, only this time they weren't in trouble. Chiron continued to pace the length of the hall. Hades and Persephone sat on the guest thrones that had been erected for them beside the horse-shoe of Olympian thrones.

"Why is it always _me_?" Grover lamented. "First Thalia, then Percy and now, _him_!" He whispered the word, like it scared him to say it. Percy and Annabeth knew why. Grover's first job turned Thalia, daughter of Zeus, into a tree. His second transformed Percy, son of Poseidon, into one of the greatest heroes of all time. His third was close to neither, but if you had to choose, it would be closer to the chaos of his first job. Chiron still paced, his hand resting on his bow. What danger could he possibly sense in the Hall of the Gods? Suddenly the huge room shook. Dionysus' scream of pain resonated around the throne room. All at once, the gods fainted.

As quickly as they fainted, the gods awoke, dazed and confused. Madness reigned supreme (no pun intended) as Dionysus, the God of Wine, slowly walked through the doorway, his face ashen. His hands shaking, Dionysus tried to calm himself enough to concentrate on growing to god-size. Once seated on his throne, the gods began.

"Well, Dionysus?" Inquired Zeus, God of the Sky, "Care to explain our little nap?"

"The boy is unlike anything I have ever encountered, Father. I was not able to cure him. However..." The God of Wine, still trying to show no outward display of terror (and failing miserably), started, until he was rudely interrupted by...

"Oh my! How is it that the _God of Madness_ can't cure some little insane boy?" Ares, God of War clearly thought this was very funny, at least until the grapevines started crawling up his throne.

"As I was saying, I was not able to cure him. _However_, I was able to get some information about the boy. Only part of his mind is insane. The two parts of his mind swap at irregular intervals. One moment you may be having a conversation worthy of Athena. The next he's a raving lunatic." Dionysus finished.

"Hey! I take umbrage at that statement!" Clearly, the Goddess of Wisdom was not impressed.

The God of Wine explained, "Well you shouldn't. If that boy was not insane, he could be the next Daedalus, and that's only with half his brain!"

"Really?" This had peaked Athena's interest significantly.

"That _still_ doesn't answer my question," Zeus stated exasperatedly, "Why did we faint, Dionysus?"

"That is what I was leading up to, Father. We didn't faint. We were put into a very short coma. You see, the part of the child's brain that functions properly, works at such a high frequency, that he can use other peoples thoughts as a channel to their powers. For instance, he took my powers to the extreme and put us all in comas." Dionysus shuddered as he relived the feeling of his powers being used against him.

"I think it's all just a load of mumbo jumbo." Hera calmly stated. "I suggest we get rid of the boy then go have dinner."

Hermes whispered under his breath, "You think?" Apollo snickered.

"What was that?" Hera's voice went up a few octaves.

"I think we should have a look at the boy before we make any rash moves." Hades cut in before a fight could ensue. Everybody, even Hades, backs away when Hera's pissed.

"Brother? You, cautioning others of rashness?" Demeter made it sound so sweet, although the mocking tone was still there.

"I have but one more thing to add before we make a decision." Dionysus readied himself to deliver his final discovery. "The boy is not a demigod."

The room was silent for the tiniest part of a second. Outcries of "_WHAT?_" and "_HUH?_" were heard all around the hall. Finally Dionysus explained.

"He is a god, one of extraordinary power. Two godly parents and a _lot_ of 'abracadabra'. He may be the stronger than all of us combined!"

During all of this, the audience just listened. Chiron focused on Dionysus, taking in every word. Grover was nervous, eating some tin cans he'd brought with him. Annabeth was just as interested as her mother when Dionysus had mentioned how smart this boy apparently was. Percy was thinking back to the summer before last, when he had forced the gods into an agreement to do good by their children and not just by themselves. Things had been much simpler then, he thought. The world was safe, he wasn't dead, he was the world's greatest hero (Zeus' words, not his) and, other than one spot on the small of his back, he was invincible. He continued to watch his best friend, Grover, eat tin cans. He wondered why satyrs ate tin cans.

As the gods' discussion got more heated, they began to shout and, naturally, attack each other. Finally this all got too much and...

"_SILENCE!"_ Nobody thought to question the outburst of the eight-year-old girl sitting in the fire at the centre of the room. "If you all want to fight, be my guests, but do it _after_ we have decided what to do!" Once again, no one spoke back. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, was even scarier than Hera when she got mad.

"Okay. Everybody sit down." Zeus thundered, "Bring in the child!"


	2. Broken Vows, Broken Minds

The population of Olympus held their breath as one, watching the doorway intently. As the Cyclopes wheeled in the cage, the room was tense. The blue cover that hid the cage's patron shimmered eerily. A sudden, manic laughter filled the room. The shimmering, blue cover flapped against the cage.

"Silence!" Zeus roared, though his voice swayed for the slightest second. The laughter stopped momentarily, only to be replaced by a low and guttural growl.

"Your commands hold no power over me, Lord of the Sky." The voice held a sneering superiority to it, one that the King of the Gods was not accustomed to hearing. Suddenly, the cover was incinerated by an invisible source, causing the cage's occupant to be revealed in all his greatness!

A boy. A small boy. His skin pallid, his hair a stormy mess of grey. Dressed totally in black, the only colour his body produced were the dazzling emerald flames that danced in his eye sockets. The boy truly looked evil incarnate. Everyone in the room stared in awe. Even Dionysus, having already seen the child, was once again stunned at merely the sight of the boy. Regaining his composure, Zeus spoke first.

"You should show more respect in the presence of the gods, _child_!" Zeus sneered back. The boy simply smirked, apparently amused at Zeus' effort to intimidate.

"Based on _my_ experiences, your respect has not been earned." There was uproar. The gods rose as one and began yelling. The room was in chaos. The boy just sat in his cage, waiting for things to settle. Zeus was fuming.

"HOW DARE YOU?" The boy rolled his eyes at Zeus' outrage. Zeus raised his Master Bolt, aiming it directly at the child.

"Father? Perhaps we could wait until after we've interrogated the boy, _then_ blast him?" Athena reasoned. Zeus, still shaking in anger, slowly returned to his throne. The boy let out a small laugh.

"Are you done?" Though still pissed about the earlier comment, the gods had to respect the boy's courage. They all started smirking and snickering. Even Hades cracked a smile, a very rare occurrence. All but one, of course. Zeus didn't find it nearly as amusing. Pre-empting another over-reaction from her father, Athena shifted the conversation away from Zeus' idiosyncrasies.

"You come in the form of a boy, but you speak with a wisdom above your age. Who are you? What is your story?"

The room seemed to hold its breath. The fire in the boy's eyes seemed to grow darker. A cold, chill fell over the Hall of the Gods.

"You told me to show you all respect. I have lived a life that contradicts your entitlement to respect. From day one, I have been abandoned by the gods. And yet you still receive 'respect', not out of love or reverence, but out of fear and weakness. You do not deserve the respect you are shown." Percy seemed to awake from a daze at this point.

"Great! He's like the demigods who sided with Kronos. Hating the gods because of the misleading of others." Apparently the boy didn't like this description.

"Clearly, you have been misled. To believe my only reasons for hating the gods are because of others is ignorant and idiotic. Other's opinions only added slightly to my beliefs. May I continue?" Percy, slightly embarrassed, nodded.

"My name is Pharos, son of...almost told you then, didn't I? You all seem very anxious to know." Pharos played the room, using his knowledge to bait his audience into the palm of his hand. Athena was growing tired of his games.

"Just tell us!" Athena sounded more exasperated than angered. Pharos raised his eyebrows.

"Okay! Don't get your toga in a twist..."

"Hey! That's my line!" Grover interrupted.

"...mom." Pharos seemed particularly delighted in revealing this, like this was worse than it sounded. Athena was in shock. Zeus' mouth was agape. Artemis rolled her eyes at this _boy's_ antics. The others all had similar reactions. Except Poseidon. He just sat there in silence. This didn't go unnoticed.

"Why, brother, you don't seem too shocked by this revelation." Hades was enjoying this too much. Zeus took interest at these words.

"I agree with Hades," the words clearly pained him; "you are quite unfazed under the circumstances. Anything you'd like to share, _dearest brother_?

"You suspicions are correct. I am the son of Poseidon." For some reason, none of the gods seemed surprised. Most of them just raised their eyebrows in amusement. Aphrodite stared at the ceiling, twiddling her thumbs.

"That's not the most scandalous thing though," Pharos continued. "It wasn't the_ traditional Athena birth_. 'Miss Goodie No Sex' broke her vow!" His horrible laughter flooded the room once again. The change was immediate. Zeus' eyebrows went from raised to knitted. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"We shall speak of this later." Zeus decreed. "Continue."

"Anyway, being the secret lovechild of Athena and Poseidon, I was hidden from the world in the only place I could have been hidden from the other Olympians; the Underworld. More specifically, the Fields of Punishment. As the years progressed, I moved from punishment to punishment, keeping their prisoners company." He had the audience captivated. "Then I started to develop powers. The power to change my form, to change my whereabouts at a thoughts notice. That's when I started exploring. I made friends in the forms of Daedalus, who I helped design the labyrinth. Eurytion, the herder of Geryon's Ranch. Even Prometheus, with whom I had a discussion on humans that lasted nearly 300 years."

"Wait! If you helped Daedalus design the Labyrinth, then you must be at least two or three thousand years old!" Ares, the _slow_ god.

"Actually, I am 2748 years old." Pharos said it deliberately inflectional at the beginning, just to make Ares feel even dumber. Hera, however, picked up on it immediately.

"If you are so old, why have you not revealed yourself sooner?"

"I had no need at the time." Pharos said simply. This just raised more eyebrows.

"And you have need now, don't you?" Trust Athena to state the obvious.

"Actually mother, _you_ are in need now." This certainly shut everyone up. Of course, Hera was sceptical.

"_Oh please_! Are you honestly saying that _we_, the gods, need _you_?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. You may have defeated the armies of Kronos, but you have bigger problems on your hands than some puny titan swinging a scythe." A gasp was unanimously emitted. That war had cost them all the lives of friends, family and more. Once again, Zeus was furious.

"Something worse than Kronos?"Zeus scoffed angrily. "I think not!"

"Who could possibly pose more of a threat than Kronos, you ignoramus?" Athena certainly had a way with words. Pharos was growing weary of this conversation.

"The one being in the universe more powerful than Kronos..."His sentence ended abruptly as he fell to the floor of his cage in a writhing fit. Sparks sizzled around him on the floor, causing his cage to set ablaze. Suddenly, his cage vanished in a cloud of darkness, only to reappear a moment later, Pharos and all, perfectly intact.

Only Pharos wasn't quite the same. This time his look matched his manic laughter. A terrible feeling filled the room.

"Great! Now we have to wait until he turns sane again to find out who this all-powerful being is!" Dionysus always knew how to lighten the mood. Athena's face was full of worry. If she was right, the gods were screwed!


	3. A Prophecy Found and a Secret Revealed

"Hey! Pharos!"

"He's not asleep. He is _insane_, Ares! Do you even know what that means? He's not in there!" Dionysus patronised.

"It was worth a try." Ares didn't like being dumb, it just came with the warrior package. Athena rolled her eyes. The room was once again filled with insane muttering.

"...golden apples...false Elysium...the Great Jailer..." Pharos definitely wasn't in a good place.

The past couple of hours had gone by swiftly. Upon the absence of sanity from Pharos, the congregation decided to have dinner. Everyone was talking about the new revelation of another threat. The gods were discussing the possibilities, most of them anyway. Athena continued to sit on her throne thinking hard. If anyone was going to figure out what this threat was, it was her. Percy was also thinking hard. A couple of the demigods kept sending fleeting looks his way. He turned to Annabeth.

"I swear that if I have to fight this new threat, I'm going to be pissed!"

"Don't worry about it. Pharos said that we need him. Maybe he has to fight it." Annabeth reasoned. This seemed to placate Percy.

"Hey guys, what's Chiron doing?" Grover had been watching Chiron for the past few minutes. It was Clarisse that spoke.

"He's copying down everything Pharos says while in 'insanity mode'."

"Why?" This time, to general surprise, it was Percy who answered.

"He thinks it might help us learn more about Pharos and his life. Did you hear what he just said? 'Golden apples'...I think Pharos has visited the Garden of Hesperides." Apparently the gods had been listening in on their conversation, because it was then that Zeus spoke.

"Percy is right. Much of what Pharos has said during his raving alludes to such things. And what of his most recent rantings? 'The Great Jailer' could refer to Kampe..."

"Kampe! What could he possibly know of Kampe?" Hephaestus had also been listening.

"Well I don't know, do I!"

"Hades...what exactly was he talking about when he said 'false Elysium'?" And Poseidon. Hades apparently hadn't been listening to Pharos' mad ravings, because he stopped still, a fork-full of food halfway between his plate and his mouth.

"Umm...I've no idea. Perhaps he is simply using the term as a metaphor for somewhere else." Everyone saw straight through the lie. Everyone except Persephone, who was too preoccupied with her food to realise he was lying.

"Surely you haven't _actually_ forgotten about your little safeguard." By this point all the gods, with the exception of Athena, were listening, interested to know of Hades _safeguard_. Hestia asked the question on everyone's mind.

"What safeguard?" Hades was looking very uncomfortable.

"It's just something I put in place to stop those aren't entitled to Elysium from entering. When arriving at the gates, there is a place that looks like Elysium, only it is totally devoid of anyone, ghouls or no. The actual entrance to Elysium is somewhere within the false one." Many of the gods looked aghast.

"Why would you do that? Demeter asked incredulously.

"Well, as Persephone puts it, it's my safeguard. If, in the unlikely event that, a soul escapes the Fields of Punishment or the Fields of Asphodel, I don't want them to be able to break into Elysium."

"Jeez! He must have ended up there at some point during his time in the Underworld!"

"No duh! Boy are you dumb, Ares." Hephaestus chuckled. Hades, not wishing to divulge anymore of his domain's secrets, went back to his fork, only to be stopped again by Athena.

"Father! I've found something! It's a prophecy. It was said by a crazy man nearly three years ago.

_Five Julian cycles from the rising, great,_

_If the gods have decided the titans' fate,_

_The seas shall rise and the skies will fall,_

_The end will come with the mountains, tall._

Oh, and there's one other thing. The man who spoke the prophecy was found dead a day later, encased in a mould of dirt!" Everyone was silent. Zeus looked shocked and confused. Ares, just confused.

"That isn't even a prophecy! It's more like a riddle. None of it makes any sense!" Athena rolled her eyes.

"Actually, it does. The calendar used by humans is known as the 'Julian Calendar'; five years after 'the rising, great' or 'The Great Rising'. 'If the gods have decided the titans' fate' could simply mean that this prophecy is only valid if we defeated the titans. I'm not sure about the rest." She explained. Artemis was thinking fast. Everyone in the hall was listening closely.

"So, since we did defeat the titans, the rest is going to happen five years after the return of the Ophiotaurus? But that's in two months!" Now everybody, god or not, looked terrified.

"Oh good! You found the prophecy!"

The hall's attention was dragged back to the cage at its centre. Pharos, having regained his sanity, was sitting calmly on the floor of his enclosure, watching them try to figure out the riddle.

"I suggest you stop eating and start listening, because although you have figured out when this will happen, you are no closer to figuring out who will be behind it." All at once, the food disappeared, much to the disappointment of Hades, who had been, for the third time, trying to eat the substance on his fork.

"I simply cannot catch a break." This brought a smile to Hestia's lips. Athena, who had been trying to figure out what this mysterious threat was, paid all attention to her son.

"I've thought of all the possible beings that you could be referring to, but I have only found a few that fit with this prophecy, and each of them is impossible."

"Really? Who did you come up with?" Pharos didn't blink. He didn't even move. He just stared, intently, at Athena, Goddess of Wisdom.

"An impossibility! Everything fit perfectly with this damn prophecy, but none of it is possible! He is gone!"

"Or is he? There was nothing said about him after his fall! How do you know he is not still in existence? I thought the gods would have learnt a lesson from their naivety. You claimed Kronos could not come back, but you were wrong. Now you believe a being more powerful than the titans could not come back? Even though there is no solid evidence he ever left in the first place? You astound me!" Having already been confused before Pharos began ranting; Ares was absolutely discombobulated by now. This, plus his temper, caused the coming blowout.

"Oh! For _our_ sake! Can one of you _please_ explain who the Hades you're talking about?"

"Hey..." Hades defended in a small voice. Athena, all out of alternatives, stated the only possibility.

"Ouranus, God of the Universe."

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry about not updating sooner. The next chapter is mostly going to be about Ouranus and what Pharos knows about the impending doom, with perhaps another prophecy. I hope you liked this chapter!**


	4. How To Kill A God

The earth had fallen into chaos. The seas devastated, the sky darkened and tornados decimated the wilderness. By the time the gods had regained control of their emotions, the damage had been done and countless lives had been lost. The world felt a fear it had not suffered for thousands of years.

The Hall of the Gods was totally silent. Indeed, no one of importance had spoken the name that caused such a panic in all that time. It was just taken as being taboo. As soon as Athena had uttered those terrible words, she had immediately begun to shrink into her chair. Poseidon wished he could comfort her, but to do so in front of the other gods would have been asking for a lightning bolt to the face. Not to mention he was just as stunned as everyone else in the room. In fact, everyone in the room had fallen into a depressive, unbelieving shock. Everyone except Hera, who was staring at Athena as though she were the spawn of the devil.

"_You dare say that name in these hallowed halls?_" She demanded in an outraged whisper. Pharos rolled his eyes.

"And to think, you wonder why some think you arrogant. Calling yourselves _hallowed_, really..."

"I see nothing wrong with Hera stating the truth, _boy_." Artemis stated fiercely.

"That's okay Artemis; I would expect nothing less from someone as sexist and short-sighted as you. The gods need to learn a sense of modesty, it seems." By this point, all the gods were into shouting mode, with the exception of Dionysus, Athena, Poseidon and Hades, who all simply smirked at each other. Athena and Poseidon locked eyes for the briefest of moments, smiling at their son's antics, only to look away in embarrassment.

"_Hey!_ That's my sister you're talking to! How dare you..." Apollo was cut off by Aphrodite's laugh.

"He is _definitely_ the son of the ocean. Rebellious as his father," she trilled.

"I'm sorry, but can we please get back on topic?" Hestia, the only one to remain totally silent through this entire exchange, had moved out of the fire to the foot of the large cage in the centre of the hall. Pharos considered her for a moment, an odd gleam in his eyes. His emerald orbs had gone a strange teal colour. After a few seconds, however, they turned to a stormy ocean in their sockets.

"Athena is correct. Ouranos is the threat." Despite it already being said, everyone was still just as shocked for hearing the name a second time. Hestia didn't move. She just stared intently at Pharos, her yellow flames searching the green.

"How?" She continued, ignoring Hera's snort. Pharos, who had been glaring at Hera, softened his expression.

"As you will recall, all the myths of Ouranos end with him being castrated by the lovely offspring you all had the misfortune to meet. People simply took this as being a metaphor for his death. Why? To your knowledge, nothing can kill monsters permanently, nor gods, nor titans. What gave everyone the impression a being more powerful than all of these combined would be able to die when they can't? As for the rest of..."

"What do you mean?" Hephaestus cut in.

"I'm sorry?"

"You said 'to _your_ knowledge' as if you _do_ know a way to permanently kill beings like us." Hades' head jerked toward Pharos. Death, he knew about. Death concerning all-powerful beings was another thing altogether. The other gods also stared at Pharos, their interest spiked.

"There is only one way to kill beings like ourselves. Tartarus," Pharos said to general confusion, "the darkest pit in the underworld. If you are killed there, you are killed forever. Which brings me to the battle plan..."

"That's _my_ job, thank you very much." Athena clearly trusted no one, not even her own children with the god's battle strategy.

"You're very welcome," Pharos smirked, "seeing as I have more information and more experience in this particular matter, I suggest you leave the pans to me on this occasion." Athena sat in her throne looking particularly disgruntled.

"As I was about to say, the rest of the prophecy, or as Ares pointed out in his brief moment of intelligence..."

"Hey..." said a small voice from Ares throne.

"...refers to the actual events that will take place in two months time. I believe that 'the seas shall rise' means that an ancient primordial god of the ocean will become active again. 'The skies will fall' obviously means Ouranos will return."

"What about the last line?" Athena cut across. Pharos' face grew darker. His stormy grey hair seemed to flash with lightning.

"The Ourea, a race of mountains. I believe they will soon awaken. This brings us to the plan." Pharos looked at everyone in the room. He was about to condemn them to a very long, very harsh two months.

"When I say mountains, I mean all mountains. Stage One will consist of evacuating Mount Olympus and relocating to..." Pharos was really beginning to hate Hera.

"Leave our home? _Never!_ I'm not going anywhere." Hera said stubbornly.

"Actually, you are. If you don't, your _home_ is going to kill you," Pharos then continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "as I was saying, you will relocate to Omaha, Nebraska. That is, as Hades will reassure you, where you shall find the only other entrance to Tartarus besides the underworld."

"Why do we have to go there?"

"Hera, do you think it's possible for you _not_ to question everything? We could have gone through this by now had you refrained from speaking. Anyway, to answer Hera's intrusion, I had been researching possible ways of defeating Ouranos, when I hit a little snag. As some of you may know, when Ouranos' blood was spilt, it became the monsters of the world. As long as they remain, Ouranos cannot die. Bringing us to Stage Two; we must hunt down all the monsters in the world, kill them and then kill them again while they are in Tartarus. It is for that reason that we must go to Omaha. While we send teams into the world to kill the monsters, others must journey into Tartarus and kill them there. Unfortunately, we can be killed while there, so the risk is great."

"Wonderful! First we have to leave our stronghold, next we have to go into Tartarus. You ask too much!" By this point, everyone was getting sick of Hera.

"Well, _mother_, you can just stand guard outside Tartarus like the coward you are." Everyone held their breath as Hermes lounged in his chair. The ensuing chaos required Zeus, Poseidon _and_ Hades to restrain the Queen of the Gods. Pharos high-fived Hermes while everyone else was occupied. Once the room had settled, it was Demeter who spoke.

"How do expect us to be able to kill _all_ of the monsters? There are thousands!" Pharos, who continued to sit calmly in his cage, looked at Artemis expectantly. Artemis, who had been in deep thought throughout the conversation, seemed to break her reverie. She looked up.

"Over the past year, there has been a steady decline in monsters. Not just in numbers, either. They've stopped regenerating. I suppose this has been your doing?" Artemis said, throwing a glance at Pharos, who just sat there smirking.

"I _may_ have." He laughed. Poseidon stared proudly at his son. His always turned out to be heroes, he thought, well, almost always. He addressed Artemis.

"How many are left?"

"Only a few hundred," she answered, "my hunters and I could finish the minor ones before the deadline, but we could not hope to defeat the worst ones." Despite the looks of gratitude being sent her way, Artemis still felt slightly ashamed. She wished she could do more. Pharos stood up. The quiet whispers coming from his audience were hushed.

"I ask that everyone but the gods leave the mountain. It is time to depart." As the crowd filed out, Pharos turned back to the gods.

"We must decide who will lead the teams to fight the worst monsters. I would like to volunteer myself to lead the attack on the Kraken, with my father's permission of course," he said with a hopeful air, chancing a glance at his father, who nodded.

As people waited on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, they kept talking in frightened whispers. While Percy, Annabeth and Grover were having an animated discussion on Ouranos, Chiron paced back and forth again. He had a deep sense that an old friend would be sacrificed on this mission, but he could not recall who.

Finally, all the residents of Mount Olympus were gone, save the gods. From the ground, you would have missed it, but from the sky, it was marvellous, yet haunting. All at once, the lights on Olympus were extinguished, and the night was silent once more.

Mount Olympus stood like a ghost town above Manhattan, a symbol of things to come.


End file.
